Crows are raging AFLW grand final favourites, but going into the biggest game of the year with any complacency is dangerous

The Crows might be raging favourites to take out their second AFLW grand final in three years, but Natalie Von Bertouch warns Adelaide against complacency

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The Crows go into Sunday’s AFLW grand final against Carlton at Adelaide Oval as red-hot favourites.

And it’s with just cause too. They’re on an impressive seven-game winning streak and the only match they’ve lost this season was in round one in early February by the slimmest one-point margin (and if they’d kicked straight, they likely would have won).

Following this loss, it was like something in the team clicked and they’ve been consistently winning with clinical skills and team football; their previous two wins have been by 10- and 11-goal margins.

But the Crows closest win this season — a 13-point margin — has been against … Carlton.

That round one loss aside, the Blues have been the side that have got the closest to beating them, so the Crows won’t be going into today’s game thinking they’re a shoo-in.

One really interesting thing in sport is the idea of the “nemesis”: Why do some clubs have the wood over others when on paper the result should be a given?

Take for example last year’s SANFL grand final when Norwood took on North Adelaide. The Redlegs had clearly been the better team all year, and yet they were beaten by the Roosters who had come into form at the right end of the season.

Crows players celebrate a goal during the AFLW Preliminary Final match between Adelaide and Geelong at the Adelaide Oval on March 24, 2019. Picture: David Mauriz/AAP

And who could forget the 2017 AFL grand final, when Adelaide were raging favourites to beat Richmond because they’d finished top of the ladder, and had beaten Geelong in the preliminary final by 61 points. And yet, come grand final day they were defeated.

During my netball career I have played in some big games for both Australia and the Adelaide Thunderbirds and if I have any advice for the Crows players it would be this: don’t approach the grand final as anything else other than another game. Sure, it’s being played on a bigger stage in front of a bigger crowd. Embrace that. But so many players come into finals with a mindset that they have to play better than they’ve done all season. But they don’t.

The most important thing the footballers can do is play their role and approach the coach’s game plan with the same mindset they’ve done all season.

I’m also intrigued by Sunday’s grand final because of what more it will tell us about the AFLW’s controversial conference system.

Going on a standard ladder of wins and losses, Carlton wouldn’t have made this finals series and yet here they are, about to play the game of their lives after finishing wooden spooners last season. I wonder how many other sports will be watch tomorrow to see how the conference system plays out?

Here’s to a fitting grand final that caps off what has been the best AFLW season so far.